Know Your Notes

Notes are named after the first seven letters in the alphabet. In order, they are:

A-B-C-D-E-F-G

Between any two notes, except B - C and E - F, we also have a sharp and/orflat note.

These are the symbols that are used to denote sharp and flat:

= sharp

= flat

If we list the notes, again, and include the sharps and flats, we get:

A - A#/Bb - B - C - C#/Db - D - D#/Eb - E - F - F#/Gb - G - G#/Ab - A

One important thing to notice is that X#/Xb is one note that has two names(The term used to describe this is ENHARMONIC). For example, A# is theexact same note as Bb. Sometimes, one name will be used, and sometimes theother name will be used. We will cover this in much greater detail in a laterlesson. For now, it's only important that you know the names of the notes.Another thing to notice is that after G#/Ab We arrive at A again. This second Avibrates exactly twice as fast as the first A, and therefore, the ear tends to hearit as another version of the same note. The second A is called the OCTAVE ofthe first A. If we continue after the second A, we get A#/Bb an OCTAVEhigher than the first, B an OCTAVE higher, C an OCTAVE higher etc., etc.,until we get to A again. This A is two OCTAVES higher than the first A. If wekeep going, the whole pattern just repeats over and over until we can't get anyhigher on the instrument. (If you didn't run out of notes, you could keep righton going until the notes were so high that only a dog could hear them!) Thesame is true if you travel in the opposite direction. The pattern repeats until yourun out of notes, or the neighbors call the cops (whichever comes first).

Here's something to help you remember the sharps and flats. If you sharpen apencil, you raise a point on it. Therefore, if you play A and then play the nexthigher note, you would call the second note A#. If you flatten a pop can, youmash it down. Likewise, if you play B and then play the next lower note, youwould call the second note Bb. Remember that A# and Bb are the exact samenote or ENHARMONIC.

This may be a bit confusing but, you'el get used to it.

All you have to remember is A through G of the alphabet and a #/b note inbetween every two notes except B - C and E - F (There's no such note as B# orCb, likewise, E# or Fb. There is an exception to this but, that's way down theroad!).

The Fingerboard

Here's what the notes look like covering the fingerboard:

I've left the sharps and flats off to make the chart easier to read, but that doesn'tmean that you should ignore sharps and flats.